If the Stars Fall
by Dana1
Summary: When things go wrong, the Shield stays united even at the expense of their own jobs. And one of them feels so alone.
1. Damaged

Title: If the Stars Fall  
Author: Dana  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: None except the usual wrestling violence  
Summary: When things go wrong, the Shield stays united even at the expense of their own jobs. And one of them feels so alone.  
Author's note: This starts out during Money in the Bank 2014. Everything after the press conference at Payback is AU.  
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize.

_Dean Ambrose was beyond angry when he stormed backstage at Money in the Bank. He had just lost his match to Seth Rollins after interference from Triple H. He knew he had Seth beaten. He should have expected it. He went backstage to where Roman Reigns was preparing for his match with Randy Orton._

_"Where were you?" Dean asked._

_"Getting ready," Roman said. "What happened? Did you win?"_

_"No. Triple H hit me with a pedigree when the ref was distracted. I thought you said you'd have my back."_

_"I'm sorry man," Roman said. "I guess I missed it. I would've been out there if I saw it."_

_"Fine," Ambrose said. "I…"_

_he was interrupted by a production assistant telling Roman his match was next. Roman left and Dean never felt so alone as he sat in the locker room alone._

_DDD  
_"Any changes," Seth Rollins asked Roman Reigns who was leaving the hospital room. Roman shook his head. It had been a couple of weeks since Payback. Seth saw on a daily calendar on a nurse's desk that it was June 29th the day of Money in the Bank but they were in Chicago Illinois and not Boston Massachusetts. Neither man was thinking of the PPV however.

Seth sat down in a chair utterly exhausted. It had been a long couple of weeks. He had just flown in after spending a couple of days with his family in Iowa. It had been his mother's birthday and he had wanted to see her. After he had been unceremoniously fired the week before due to more 'budget cuts' which both Roman and Seth took as Hunter not wanting to deal with the situation. The hilarious part was Dean Ambrose wasn't listed on the first or second round of firings. Hunter could be really mean when he wanted to be.

He closed his eyes as he started to remember three weeks ago.

Ambrose had been quiet after the left the ring at Payback. He had been able to walk backstage and to the room where the press conference was being held. He had put his head down on the table and only sat up when Roman nudged him.

After the press conference the trainers examined Roman's back and arm. Dean refused to let them check him for a concussion saying he was just really tired and his head was just fine. He left the trainer's room and went to the locker room to change before a trainer could examine him.

Seth wondered if things would have gone differently if the trainer had examined him.

Dean had been quiet the whole way to the hotel. He and Seth were sharing a room while Roman was sharing a room with Goldust.

Seth let Dean take the first shower as he settled down in front of the TV looking for something to watch. All of the local news channels were talking about the Blackhawks losing game seven to the Los Angeles Kings. He had just found a CSI rerun when he thought he heard a thump.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

All he heard was the shower running.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. Seth got up to answer it and found Roman.

"Dustin and I are going to get something to eat. You guys want to come?"

"Let me tell Dean." He said and walked to the bathroom door and knocked. The shower was still running. "Dean," he called loudly. There was no answer. He tried the door and found it unlocked. He opened the door slowly and then threw it open when he got a look. He hurried over to Ambrose who was lying unconscious on the floor. There was a blood smear on the tub where Ambrose had hit his head.

Roman appeared in the doorway and then quickly dialed 911.

The doctors guessed the initial head injury came when Triple H had hit Ambrose in the head with a sledgehammer. He most likely had a concussion and had lost his balance or passed out in the bathroom and cracked his head on the bathtub. There was a skull fracture and swelling to the brain. The doctor had said he was lucky he hadn't been killed instantly.

Neither Seth no Roman had gone to the RAW that night and had read online that Triple H had bragged about it.

WWE at first had been very understanding but then ordered Roman and Seth to be at RAW in Minneapolis. They didn't like it because it meant no one would be with Ambrose if he woke up or…

RAW ended up being a tag match between Seth/Roman/John Cena vs. The Wyatt Family with the two remaining members of Evolution coming out and making it a five on three brawl.

After the show they approached Vince and asked for time off which was granted to them. Two weeks later they were both fired.

The third member of the Shield, who may not wake up again, was still an employee of the WWE. Neither Roman nor Seth found that funny at all.

DDD  
Notes: Sorry for any confusion. This fic is going to go back and forth between reality and what's going on in Dean's head. Dean's head will be in italics.


	2. An Offer They Can Refuse

"Seth," a voice called quietly startling Seth awake. He looked at Dean for a hopeful moment before realizing it was Roman that had woken him up. It had been a long couple of weeks.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Seth got up and walked out of the hospital room.

"I just got a text from Hunter asking us to be at RAW tomorrow. He wants to talk to us about returning to work.

"What's the catch," Seth asked. "Hunter was more than happy to fire us last week due to 'budget cuts' and now he wants to rehire us? We both know the reason why he didn't fire Dean was because it would make WWE look bad but there has to be a catch."

"If there is one," Roman said, "he didn't mention it. We'll probably be forced into being their puppets again."

Seth looked again at the hospital room. "I'd like to hit Hunter in the head with a sledgehammer and see how he likes it."

"I know," Roman said.

* * *

_Dean arrived at RAW the next night in a bad mood. Roman had defeated Heath Slater but he had lost due to Hunter's interference. He wanted to get a hold of both Seth and Hunter but they hadn't arrived yet. The arena felt empty with people walking around though he didn't recognize the faces for some reason. He walked into his locker room and put his bag down and started getting ready._

_The door opened. "Ambrose," Vickie Guerrero said, "Hunter and Stephanie want to talk to you."_

_Good Ambrose thought as he followed the former General Manager out of the locker room and to the Authority's Office. He walked in and found not only Hunter and Stephanie but Randy Orton and Kane was well. Seth was nowhere in sight. He felt like he had just walked into a trap_.

* * *

When Roman and Seth arrived at RAW the next night; they were escorted to the Authority's Office by security.

Hunter, Stephanie, and Kane were waiting for them. "Have a seat," Hunter said. Roman and Seth reluctantly sat down.

"I'm glad you could make it," Stephanie said, "we know it's been a rough couple of weeks for you two."

"It didn't help when you fired us," Seth fired back. "Vince said we could have time off!"  
_  
_"It was nothing personal Seth," Hunter said, "it was a budget thing. We didn't budget for paying for long term care of a wrestler."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you hit him with a sledgehammer," Roman said his voice taking a deadly tone but Hunter showed no fear. In fact, he smiled.

"Be that as it may," Hunter said. "We are ready to rectify the firing tonight."

"So what's the catch," Seth asked.

"Catch?" Stephanie asked. "I don't know what you mean," she said looking innocent.

"There is one catch I guess," Hunter said deciding not to beat around the bush. "We are only hiring back one of you. You will wrestle tonight to determine who gets the spot. Of course they also will do whatever we say and may get title matches in the future. No guarantee of course. You will have to prove you deserve a second change. Whoever loses will stay unemployed and will have to wait out the rest of the 60 days before they can join another company."

Roman and Seth exchanged looks. "Fine," Roman said. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Stephanie said smiling big. "You may go."

Seth and Roman left the office.

"Screw them," Roman said and walked out of the arena. Seth followed behind him.


	3. Fatherly Advice

Notes: I thought since we get to see so much into Ambrose's comatose mind, I should probably write a chapter from the other two Shield's perspective. First up is Roman Reigns. Also I could only find Roman's daughter's name. If anyone knows Roman's fiancé's name let me know. Special thanks to Jules for her input.

* * *

Roman sat in the chair next to Dean's chair wishing they were both anywhere but there. For him, he could be anywhere but he chose to be with Dean couldn't go anywhere else and maybe never would. He didn't like thinking like that, but he had no choice but to accept it. The doctors kept them up to date and said that the swelling wasn't decreasing at the rate they would have liked and there was a good chance that Dean would remain in a coma or be a vegetable for the rest of his life.

Roman couldn't help but blame himself for what happened. He had seen Triple H hit Dean in the head with the sledgehammer. He should have insisted that Dean let the trainers check him but Dean kept saying he felt fine and he had been able to walk out of the arena and to his motel room without assistance and appeared fine.

But then he remembered how he and Seth had to pull Dean to his feet after the match. Dean had leaned against him as they stood over the Hunter's fallen body. At the press conference, Dean had put his head down on the table and he had to nudge him. That should have been a clue that Dean was not okay but he and Seth just chalked it up as exhaustion. They had all been tired.

His phone started to ring and he looked down at the caller ID. It was his father. "I'll be right back," he said to Dean before getting up and leaving the hospital room. He found a quiet place before answering with, "hello?"

"I just heard from Jimmy that you turned down an offer to return to the WWE!" Sika said in form of a greeting.

"Dad," Roman said, "it wasn't an actual job offer. Hunter said Seth and I could fight for a chance to return to the WWE. Whoever won would go back to being Triple H's stooge with no guarantee of getting a title shots."

"That's better than nothing," his father reminded him. "What are you going to do for the next sixty days? You have a daughter to think about!"

"I know that dad. Trust me Joelle is always on my mind but I've talked to Michelle and she's completely behind this decision."

"This is about Dean Ambrose isn't it," his father asked his voice softening. "Son I've read about it on the internet. It doesn't look good. Don't throw away your career for someone who most likely will never get better. Friends are a good thing but family should come first."

"Dad I am thinking about my family. Dean and Seth are just as much my brothers as Matt is. Other than Seth and me, Dean doesn't have any family. We want to be here if anything changes good or bad."

"Joe," Sika said, "you can't throw away your wrestling career. Dean wouldn't want you to."

"I know dad. I'm not throwing away my career. Once the sixty days are up, I'll see where I end up. I know Ring of Honor has been contacting Seth about going back. They are really trying to get Seth and CM Punk to come back." He wished ROH had at least shown interest in him. So far only TNA had contacted him.

* * *

_Dean was ready to tear apart the locker room. Triple H had just informed him that not only would he not be participating in the battle royal for the Intercontinental Title but he wasn't going to be on the card at all. He knew he shouldn't expect anything different from Hunter after all Hunter had cost him his match with Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank. Roman was too caught up in his own excitement over being put in the four way match for the title to offer Dean any encouragement. It seemed to him that his former Shield teammates were doing better than him. Triple H had added Seth last minute to the Mr. Money in the Bank match and then had Kane knock Kofi Kingston off of the ladder._

_Dean got up._

_"Where are you going?" Roman asked._

_"Does it really matter?" Dena asked. He didn't wait for an answer as he left the locker room. He had just arrived at the Authority's office when he felt pain go through his body and then everything went dark._

* * *

He looked up and saw that Seth was trying to get his attention. He looked worried. "Dad I've got to go." he said and hung up. "What's going on?"

"Dean had a seizure."

* * *

Notes: Hope I didn't write Roman's dad too meanly. I just wanted to have him be concerned about his son's career. Also sorry for the changes to the PPVs. Things happened differently after I wrote certain chapters. It's okay. It's an AU. As for CM Punk remark: It still feels weird that he is officially gone from the WWE.


End file.
